Sac the House and Have Some Fun!

So far this new series on “attacking the enemy King oriented tactics” has explored kingside weaknesses on h6, h7, g7, and f7 that often lead to some form of mating attack catastrophe. We added to the “h7-square as a target” via looking at the Classic Bishop Sacrifice (a 4 part series).

Now we’ll be moving into other forms of tactics (you need to know all the basic tactics before you can create a complex, thrilling, mating tactical bomb), but before we isolate the various tactical motifs, I’ll present a bunch of puzzles (featuring all sorts of tactical ideas from my own praxis) just for the sheer enjoyment of it.

I should add that I started off as a crazed attacking player. At first I would just let myself “go” and try anything that seemed like fun, even if it wasn’t sound. But after a while, as my competition improved, I would make an effort to only pull the trigger if I felt a sacrifice or tactic was sound.

Here’s a game (played when I was 15 years old) that’s filled with mistakes, but it was very much in tune with my chess philosophy at that time (Alekhine was my hero and I wanted to play like him). Though accuracy and soundness are important as you move up the rating ladder, there is something to be said for just sacrificing the house and having a great time. It’s not only fun to do this, but it also teaches you when these things work and when they don’t, and gives you a feel for the tempo of an attack. In other words, if tossing everything but the kitchen sink at an opponent is both fun and instructive, then there’s no reason not to give it a go.

This was my first published game. Here’s the write-up that appeared in some chess magazine: “ONE piece sacrificed is neat. TWO pieces sacrificed is spectacular. THREE pieces sacrificed is dashing, undaunted, bravado. When one of them is a Rook, it’s breathtaking. And add another fourth piece, even though it’s for three pawns – though giving one back to boot – ending up with Q and R vs. Q, R, R, B, N, N is practically illegal.” As a kid I was thrilled to read this, even though a glance nowadays tells me that I did just about everything wrong!

25.g4+! Nxg4 26.Qxh7+ eventually mates. Now the game should end a draw.

25...Ke4 26.Rf4+

I get excited and give away even more stuff. Under normal circumstances I would recommend 26.Rfe1+ (trying to go back to the previous mating position after 26…Kf5 27.g4+, etc.), but after 26...Kf5 a three time repetition will occur, and (if Black notices) a draw can be claimed. So it turns out that 26.Rf4+ was the best try.

26…Kxf4

White’s running out of pieces, and Black still threatens mate on c2!

27.Qg3+ Kf5??

27...Ke4 leaves White with nothing more than a draw by perpetual check.

28.Rf1+ Ke4 29.Qf3+

Faster was 29.Qd3+ Ke5 30.Rf5 mate.

29...Ke5 30.Qf5+ Kd4 31.Rd1+ Kc4

Black triples on the c-file.

32.Qd3 mate.

Now THAT is entertainment! Would I have been upset if someone had pointed out all my mistakes after the game? No way! The thrill of the King hunt was what mattered, and the fact that I was eventually able to drag down my prey made the game a fun, memorable affair.

Okay, time for the puzzles!

PLEASE keep in mind that the puzzles usually have "hidden" prose and variations. To see this, click on SOLUTION and then MOVE LIST.

Kommentare

I guess he means that they are too difficult. Please understand that I mix very easy puzzles with very hard ones. But even if you can't solve any of them, I've added prose (hidden until you click SOLUTION and then MOVE LIST at the bottom of the puzzle) so that they will make more sense. The idea of the puzzles is NOT to brag about solving them or feel despair at not being able to, the idea is to do your best with each one and use them to add to your understanding of the article's general theme. In short, the puzzles are merely an extra (and fun, since it's more interactive than a straight lecture) learning tool.

Is playing sacrifices you consider unclear good for learning purposes? I've heard that you shouldn't sacrifice unless you find compensation (like a mate or winning back matereal), but sometimes you find some compensation and not sure weather it's enaugh. Most likely making that sacrifice would not be good for the result, but it does give a lesson about the sacrifice that would not be obtained by playing something else and analysing it afterwards don't make the same impression like if you had played it at the game. When I've made dobious sacrifices I pretty much always get the reply, after the game, that I shouldn't have sacrificed if I didn't calculate until I have full compensation. I've always believed positions you consider unclear is the positions you learn the most from playing and analysing afterwards.

@ Beachdude67, who thought my advice to let loose and sacrifice stuff if the mood hits you was idiotic.

Mr. Beachdude67 doesn't understand the concept of context. An honest read should have made it clear that I was referring to beginners who need to give things a try so they can get a feel for what does and does not work. At the same time, sacrificing and attacking is great fun, so it's a wonderful way to learn since even if the attack fails you'll still enjoy the experience.

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